577/450 Martini cases from 24g brass shotgun cases

[Ovenpaa]

I thought this was rather good, how to form 577/450 Martini cases from 24g brass shotgun cases
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRnSOrP ... re=related[/youtube]
Has anyone tried this, alternatively what do you do for cases, Kranks maybe?

[Sandgroper]

A "how to" article from surplus rifles

http://www.surplusrifle.com/articles200 ... /index.asp

So, okay, why does this concern us, the modern day mil-surp shooter? Basically all you have to do is find a source of .577/45 (or .450 Martini Henry) ammo for sale. After you catch your breath and notice you did NOT make an error in reading where the decimal point in the price tag is, you will realize that, in order to shoot your .577/45 Martini Henry, it will cost over $5 a pop (20 rounds are currently running well over $120). Obviously, this sort of pricing makes the Martini Henry a prime candidate for reloading. BUT, this is no standard sized case, and unfortunately, you cannot use just standard reloading tools. Fortunately, Lee Precision Inc. (very likely the mil surp shooters BEST reloading friend), can provide the proper tools at a very reasonable price. And, on top of that, the techniques for reloading are not too difficult…after all, WE did it successfully!

[Ovenpaa]

I do like these things and they seem to be quite sensibly priced as well.

[Sandgroper]

As satisfying as it would be to do something like that, I really don't know if I would have the patience. :-P :x :cool2:

[Ovenpaa]

You would only need to form maybe 25 cases as I doubt it would be much fun to shoot any more in one sitting. I would look on the 577/450 Martini as one of those things to shoot alongside a couple of .303's on a Sunday morning.

Do we have anyone shooting these things on the forum?

[Sandgroper]

If any does, it'll be Dromia. :)

[Ovenpaa]

I think he is away in the hills killing Bambi at the moment..

[brownbess]

hi all,
martini's are really addictive so beware! i shoot a mk1, artillery and a cavalry carbine. loading for them is'nt really a problem, more of an art, i cast my own heads and wrap them with nitrated paper, 70grns of med powder for the rifle and 50grns for the carbines, charge the cases with powder, place a cardboard wad (beer mat thick) down the neck followed by a beeswax/lard disc then a .45 felt wad, seat the bullet and your away .
i don't shoot serious target, i just enjoy shooting old guns, as long as it hits the target area i'm happy, having said that you can get good groupings if you work at the loads for each rifle and play around with lubes/patches/wads ect.
as with all antique guns bear in mind their age and give 'em a bit of respect, at the end of the day you don't own the gun, your only looking after it untill it is passed on to the next person.
,
bb
p.s in answer to the original thread you can get preformed cases ranging from £3.50 to £5.50, i just buy a few now and then and in no time you have a bit of stock

[targetman]

"Do we have anyone shooting these things on the forum?"

Oh, yes.....my first "classic" rifle way back in the mists of time was a Mkiv Martini-Henry the one with the long lever, bought from John Buckley of Outwoods Small Arms for the princely sum of £80....I still have it and also a Mkii, a Westley Richards Francotte patent, a Carbine and a .22" Bonehill conversion of a large frame Martini. I shoot them all as often as I can, great fun and easy to load. I have a fair number of cases bought over the years and use variety of bullets. I have shot the Mkii out to 600 yards with reasonable success and once out to 900 yards when I managed to hit the target 7 times out of 10, the "group" was probably about 8 foot square !!!!

[Ovenpaa]

"Do we have anyone shooting these things on the forum?"

Oh, yes.....my first "classic" rifle way back in the mists of time was a Mkiv Martini-Henry the one with the long lever, bought from John Buckley of Outwoods Small Arms for the princely sum of £80....I still have it and also a Mkii, a Westley Richards Francotte patent, a Carbine and a .22" Bonehill conversion of a large frame Martini. I shoot them all as often as I can, great fun and easy to load. I have a fair number of cases bought over the years and use variety of bullets. I have shot the Mkii out to 600 yards with reasonable success and once out to 900 yards when I managed to hit the target 7 times out of 10, the "group" was probably about 8 foot square !!!!

Lovely, success can be measured by hitting the target every bit as much as small groups.

What is a good model to look for and are there any tips or pitfalls with buying/owning one?